TheHitchhikers GuideTo The Galaxy

Earth Edition

Driving

Do try to have at least some idea of where you're driving before you get behind the wheel and put the car in gear.

Figure out where you're going and look at a map so you have an idea of how to get to that destination. Please.

In Hershey, Pennsylvania we get our fair share of tourists visiting the chocolate factory, the amusement park, the golf courses, the historic gardens, the shops and the sports complex.

Many locals in the area give out-of-state drivers a wide berth since they are likely to veer wildly across three lanes of traffic without signalling because they've decided at the last moment that they'd really like to visit the gardens.

Also, obeying traffic laws is always a bonus that will help you blend in. People who make a U-turn in the middle of a busy street because they passed their hotel on the first go do not endear themselves to the locals.

Driving

In France, vehicles joining a main road from a side road used to have the right of way. It is now being phased out but still applies in some areas.

Learn a bit of the local language:-

When I was a coach driver I did a bit of Tour work in France. The Gendarmerie had a great little money-making system going - Fine the British Coach Driver. They would wait at the peage at the end of an Autoroute and pull over every British coach that came through and give it a thorough inspection. I quickly learned that if you greeted them in French and could could answer their standard questions in French they were much more tolerant to minor misdemeanours than if you could only reply in English.

It's also a major bonus if you can recognise place names in the local language eg Koln for Cologne, Praha for Prague - it cuts out a lot of unecessary mileage.

I also found that being from Scotland was a major advantage in France. When it was realised that you weren't English it's amazing how much more friendly and helpful locals were.

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